The Hand of God

A few nights ago Stephen and I were looking at one of my journals from high school. My junior year of high school I went on a family vacation with KJ Pugh to Disney World. (Side note - It was on that trip that I first met Stephen). While on this trip I noticed that KJ's sister, Katie, was going through a devotional book called Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore. So shortly after getting home from the trip I went and purchased Whispers of Hope for myself. It's a fantastic devotional and prayer journal that I highly recommend. It was really neat to look back over my prayers as a junior in high school.

Well Stephen was reading over some of them with me and he jokingly asked if there was one in there about him. I said that I thought there was at least one prayer in there for my future husband. Well we flipped through the book some and then Stephen said "Turn and look at the one dated on my birthday." So I flipped over to 1/17/2001 and THERE IT WAS! On my husband's birthday, as a junior in high school who barely knew him, I was praying for my future husband! How amazing is that!? It is surely no coincidence...we've always said that we can see the hand of God all over our relationship and sovereignly bringing us together. Here is another piece of evidence that God was working on our hearts and in our lives from well before we knew we would be husband and wife. God is truly amazing and worthy of praise!

Books, Books, and More Books!

Note: You will find my current book list at the bottom of this post...hope you make it all the way to the end!I have loved reading ever since I was a little girl. I used to get in trouble for reading in my closet when I was supposed to be in bed...I would get in bed with the lights off, lay there for a few minutes, and then when I thought the coast was clear, I'd grab a book and hide in my closet and read until I got tired or got caught.

As a young girl I loved Nancy Drew, the Anne of Green Gables series, The Secret Garden, and the Mandie Books by Lois Gladys Leppard.As a teenager, I began to read more Christian fiction and books on Christian Living. Some of my favorites were The O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson and Passion & Purity by Elisabeth Elliot.

In college I went through a phase of wanting to read some of the classics in literature that I was supposed to have read in high school, but didn't really enjoy because they were an assignment. I also continued to read various Christian fiction and non-fiction books. Favorites were The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Humility by Andrew Murray, A King's Rhapsody by Hester W. Chapman, and The Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster.

Lately my taste in books have centered more around women's roles...books on marriage, being a godly wife, discipling, mentoring young girls, and parenting. For the last few months I've had a stack of books on my nightstand that I'm trying to read through in the midst of my busy life and being a good wife to Stephen. Thankfully I've been able to finish a few of them and inevitably find two more to add to the stack with each one I finish.

As I continue in the God-given roles of wife and discipler to teenage girls, I have a huge interest to learn from others who have gone before me and have godly wisdom to share. I love reading insights from others and gleaning bits of wisdom and truth from their experiences. I thought I'd share my current book list incase anyone might be interested. I'm hoping to write a brief review of each book as I finish it. Nothing scholarly or in-depth, just my takes from the books.

I want to make a point to mention that none of these books replace the importance and necessity of personal time in God's Word and prayer. God is the ultimate source of wisdom, and everything I read in a book must be weighed against the truth of Scripture. The compass for my life is found in the Bible - it is there that I learn the importance of loving and respecting my husband as well as the importance of teaching younger women.

"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything...Each one of you [husbands] also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5:22-24, 33.

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:3-5

So in light of the preeminence of God's Word as the source of truth and wisdom for life, here are the books I'm hoping to read over the next few months for edification and sanctification in my life.

Currently Reading

Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney, wife of CJ Mahaney

Growing Godly Women: A Christian Woman's Guide to Mentoring Teenage Girls by Donna Greene

My Book List
Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper, wife of John Piper
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Ricucci & Mahaney
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
Knowing God by JI Packer
The Holiness of God by RC Sproul
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
Holiness by JC Ryle
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp
Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Heaven by Randy Alcorn
Too Small To Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International (I know him!)

Less Than A Week Left In January

Can you believe February will be starting on Saturday?!?! I know I can't. January has been a very busy and full month for Stephen and me. We've had lots of good ministry opportunities over the last few weeks and there's not much of an end in sight. I'm going to attempt to give a BRIEF rundown of what we've been up to.

Kansas Christmas

Christmas was spent at my parent's house in Kansas. We had a great time relaxing and hanging out with them. And we spent an entire week there, which mi

ght be the most time I've spent in Kansas since the summer after my sophomore yr of college (over 4 yrs ago). Again, it was fantastic. We took some family pics, which you can see below.

Winter Retreat

We also went with the FBC Sylcauga youth group to Pigeon Forge, TN for their Winter Retreat. We had a great weekend of hanging out, listening to some good teaching, and eating lots of fast food (ugh). My two favorite parts were hanging out with the girls in my room at the hotel (yay for 7th graders) and the fact that the senior high bus listened to Mark Driscoll's Peasant Princess sermon series on the Song of Solomon on the drive to and from Pigeon Forge. Awkward, hilarious, awkward, shocking, awkward, and biblical. All with a bunch of high schoolers...Doesn't get much better than that.

Seminary

January marks the beginning of another semester of seminary for Stephen. He took a week long workshop in GA to knock out one of his classes and then started back with the regular classes this past Monday. He's got a pretty heavy load this semester and I know he's already feeling the weight of it as First Baptist's Upward Basketball league is getting underway at the same time his classes are gearing back up, but thankfully God has provided a job where he can study and work (on things like Upward) at the same time.

The Rest

There's tons more to write about, but I'll keep it at that for now. I'm really wanting to update this more often...there are so many things bouncing around in my head that I'd like to get on here. I've been reading some great books and listening to some great sermons and series over the last few months and I'd love to share some of that with you guys. There's also lots of exciting ministry things going on in our lives that I want to talk about on here. The big problem is just time. Hopefully I can make it more of a priority in the next few weeks and put some of those thoughts on the blog. I hope you guys are all doing well and that you are falling more in love with our great Savior every day.

Blessings!

Rachel

Weekend Fun

This weekend Stephen and I watched the Brock children.  We had a lot of fun with them playing video games and watching movies.  They are great kids who love to laugh and I couldn't help taking a few pictures of the fun we were having. 

Stephen and Brandon played Wii Boxing and Brandon was so funny I ended up recording a few seconds of it on my camera.  Click on the video to watch it.  Little Brandon definitely beat my big, strong husband, which made it even funnier.  Enjoy the pics and video!

I thought this picture was great.  Stephen was playing a video game on the computer and the kids wanted to know all about the game and how to play it.  They gathered around Stephen and watched for about 30 minutes while he explained everything and showed them how to play. There was one moment when Brandon leaned over Stephen's shoulder and put his arm around him.  He stood like that for a few moments and it was just precious.  It happened too fast for me to take a picture of though.  I am so proud of my husband, who loves children and does such a great job playing with, entertaining, and leading/teaching them. He will be a great father one day.

In the meantime, here's what I've been doing for the last week:

It's Christmas time, and that means lots of parties and goodies! It's been great to celebrate our Savior's birth with good friends and family. I'm looking forward to the next 2 weeks as we spend some quality time with both our families.

Merry Christmas!

Decorating for Christmas

I love this man.  

He does NOT like putting up Christmas lights.  

But he LOVES me.  

And I really wanted lights on our beautiful home.  

AND his dad offered to buy ALL the Christmas lights we needed if Stephen would put them up.

So he agreed to go all out and do whatever I wanted.  

I wanted to outline the house in white lights.  

And he did it.  

He climbed up on our REALLY high roof and got much too close to the edge for my comfort (and his mom's!) and made my dream happen.  

I love this man.

And I love this house.

Doesn't it look pretty!?!

It's even better in person!

THANK YOU STEPHEN!!!

Not for the Faint of Heart

A friend of mine has been on an incredible journey this year. She has been a participant of the World Race which is put on by Adventures in Missions (www.theworldrace.org). It is a year long journey that literally takes you across the planet serving in radical ways to people at each stop. My friend has been keeping a blog of her adventure and I've been living vicariously through her stories of poverty, depravity, love, and the redemptive power of Christ.

Her most recent blog has been on my mind all day. So much that I had to spend my lunch break praying over the people she writes about.

It's not for the faint of heart.

Take a moment to read the entry here and let your eyes be opened to reality. Then read through the rest of her entries.

Hope Fundraiser!

Who likes Boston Butt?!?

Boston Butt Fundraiser

Now through Nov 22nd!

Reach Orphans With Hope is having a Boston Butt Fundraiser to raise money for our orphan outreach projects including: orphan child needs, the Summer Orphan Program, and post-adoptive family support.  For those who don't know, half my time at work is dedicated to this awesome organization.  They are an orphan advocacy and humanitarian aide group for international, older orphan children.  You can find out more about them at www.reachorphanswithhope.org

Pre-Order Cost $30.00

Now through Nov 12th you can pre-order a Boston Butt by getting ahold of me or calling Reach Orphans With Hope (I answer the phones too) at 205-229-2707.  The cooked Boston Butts will be available for pick-up on Saturday, November 22nd from 8:00am - 12:00pm at The Church at Brook Hills Student Building Parking Lot.  I can bring them to Sylacauga that afternoon for all the Sylacauga folks!  Walk-up orders are also welcome on delivery day until we are sold out!

Order yours today and have it just in time for Thanksgiving crowds and Iron Bowl Parties!